New therapy hopes to treat Alzheimer's disease

AUSTIN, Texas - June is Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month and right now, more than 6.5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's.

That number is expected to more than double by 2050, so the rush is on to find treatments for this mind-robbing illness.

Dr. Donald J. Garcia with Austin Clinical Trial Partners speaks with FOX 7 Austin's Rebecca Thomas about an investigational therapy for Alzheimer's patients.

Rebecca Thomas: All right, Dr. Garcia, let's talk about the LIFT-AD trial, how it works, who is eligible and what the treatment regimen is.

Dr. Garcia: Of course. Well, the LIFT-AD trial is a unique and unique trial that's been ongoing and will probably be going on for the next year or longer as we get enough candidates to run. Three of the trial candidates are between 55 and 85 years old. They need to demonstrate some form of memory loss that's worsening over the last year have been diagnosed with mild or moderate Alzheimer's, which sets this study apart from other studies. We're actually looking at treatment for mild to moderate segment of this population. We are here at Austin Clinical Trial Partners, one of 40 or so sites across the country that are conducting the research. And so here we are doing the study locally in Austin, which is great because our population is getting older as Austin is getting older.

Rebecca Thomas: And there are about 400,000 people here in Texas who have Alzheimer's. And this is a growing problem for people as they age. 

Dr. Garcia: It is. It certainly is.

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Rebecca Thomas: Let's talk about the medication Fosgonimeton and how it differs from other Alzheimer's drugs such as Aduhelm and Leqembi, which could soon have full FDA approval. 

Dr. Garcia: Well, again, you point out something that's really important here. This is a drug that's being studied that not only is it being looked at for mild to moderate Alzheimer's, but it seems to work in areas of the brain and certain systems that have to do with the brain's ability to naturally regenerate and revitalize itself, which is different from a lot of the drugs that are out right now. The approved drugs that we've been using for a long time basically are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which increase the amount of acetylcholine and in the brain, and that's thought to play a role and in Alzheimer's. But the reason for the neurotransmitter depletion is because the actual cells of the brain and certain areas are degenerating. And so this is a drug that works on the brain's natural healing process, which is, to me quite interesting and unlike anything that we see out there, some of the newer drugs are looking at fighting a plaque called amyloid. It's a it's a protein that builds up in the brain and it poisons the brain. And some of the more recent treatments and areas of focus are looking on breaking down that plaque. But the theory that drug theory is the pharmaceutical company that's sponsoring this research and has developed the drug is going at it in a very unique way, looking at the brain's natural ability to regenerate itself.  

If you or someone you love has Alzheimer's disease and wants to learn more about the LIFT-AD trial, click here.